One of the ways that the North Korean political philosophy (”Juche”) looks like a religion is in the realm of the “incarnation theory”. It is strongly believed that the present leader, Kim Jong Il, must carry out “the will of the father” and previous leader, Kim Il Sung. They call Dad the “Eternal” Suryong (leader). If he is eternal he must still be with us somehow, and not just in our memories. Maybe “in the person of his son,” using Christian terminology.

Presently Kim Jong Il is being referred to as the “Great” Leader, a phrase that originally was only to be applied to the father. Do the North Koreans believe that the father lives on in the son, directing their every move still as he did until his death in 1994? Yes, it seems that the idea being promoted is that Kim Jong Il (present) IS Kim Il Sung (past), that is, the one is an incarnation of the other.

This could well be a deliberate swipe at the Christian faith, either by the NK government or by Satan himself who has for aeons been looking for a way to supplant the original Father and Son. Reincarnation itself is not a new concept but to see it taking place in this Father-Son way brings about a twinge of jealousy in us in whom the Spirit of the one true God strives.